1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to missile tracking systems. More specifically, this invention relates to improvements in the tracking and guidance of line-of-sight command missiles.
While the present invention is described herein with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Modifications may be made within the teachings of this invention without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical line-of-sight guided missile system includes a launcher and guided missile. In some systems, the launcher is equipped with a gunners optical sight and an electronic guidance computer which automatically sends steering commands to the missile in flight. In such systems, after launch, a beacon in the tail of the missile may be activated and subsequently detected by a sensor on the launcher. The sensor would be boresighted with the gunners telescope and would allow the launcher to track the missile along its flight path. The sensor and associated processing circuitry would measure the angle between the missile and the gunners line-of-sight. These displacements would be transformed by the computer into guidance commands which would be sent to the missile. The gunner used only keep the crosshairs of the telescope on the target during missile flight.
This system would be and is effective under all conditions in which the target is visible to the gunner. Accordingly, its operability is limited as to targets which are obscured by darkness, smoke, or under conditions of poor atmospheric visibility. When the system is augmented by a foward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor and display, the operator has the capability of seeing many targets which would otherwise be obscured.